I've checked out many make-your-iPhone-into-a-universal-remote devices before, and there would always be one factor that made the whole setup hard to use. Whether it's unrefined, crashy software, limited range for IR blasting, or the fact that you need to shove (and keep track of) an IR device into the headphone jack for it to work, none of these previous devices were as good as Logitech's Harmony Link.

Here's how it works. The Harmony Link ($100) is a small, AC-powered device that connects to your Wi-Fi network, then blasts IR signals to all your home theater devices to control it. If you've used a regular Logitech Harmony universal remote with a Wi-Fi to IR extender, this works just like that. To control the thing, you use your iOS device or Android device—any iOS or Android device—and run the Harmony Link app, which has a representation of a universal remote on the screen. This means that you can be anywhere in your house, as long as you're in Wi-Fi range, and use any iPhone, iPod touch or iPad to change channels, adjust volume, fire up your PS3 for a Blu-ray or turn everything off.

Unlike regular Harmony Wi-Fi to IR blasters, the Link sends out IR signals at a much higher strength, bouncing them off your walls to get to devices hidden around corners. For those of you who hide things inside closed cabinets, there's one IR expander as well, with an option for a second. The bottom line is that you can place the Link just about anywhere on your entertainment console and it will reach most, if not all of your devices without a problem.

The upside to having all this done by Logitech is that they have so much expertise with universal remotes. I love my Harmony, and the UI on the iPhone and iPad is the best universal remote implementation for iOS that I've seen yet. And because Logitech has such a wide database of devices and IR codes, setting up your Link is as easy as setting up a Harmony—if not easier. So both those bases are covered.

In a practical sense, having any iOS device as a remote is very, very handy. Not only does it give you non-line-of-sight access to your stuff, so you can adjust the channel or volume of the TV while you're in the kitchen, it allows everyone in your family to have a remote. For example, I, like many others nowadays, often watch TV while browsing the internet or doing something on my iPad. Now I can just quickly flip over to the Harmony app, skip past the commercials, then flip back to what I was doing without picking up another device. And remote hogging is no longer an issue if there are plenty of iPhones, iPod touches and iPads laying around your house. I always have my iPhone in my pocket, so in theory, I always have a remote in my pocket.

Also, there's the fact that if you don't already have a universal remote, this Link is a pretty decent intro to the space, and one that you don't feel like you're slumming it with, since it's still a Harmony with Harmony logic.

Practically speaking, I would still use my regular Logitech Harmony as my main remote, because physical buttons are going to trump touchscreen buttons all the time. But for a second remote, for the times when I don't want to reach over to pick up the real one but already have my iPhone or iPad near me, or for people who don't already have a universal remote, the Link is fantastic.